1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a container that allow for the immediate isolation and containment of contaminated medical instruments and used medical devices. The medical equipment including such things as used scalpels, needles, syringes, trachs, suction caths, IV's, used bandages, and G tube feeding tubes, foley caths, or any medical equipment that is contaminated with biohazardous waste. The contaminated medical equipment is simply put in the container, and the airtight lid is sealed; all reuseable equipment medical equipment is disinfected prior to the lid of the container being reopened. Due to the containers simple cost effective design, and its airtight sealing lid and sterile hollow antechamber; the container can function to store, hold, and safely, transfer any medical equipment, devices, human tissues, or implants materials; that must maintain sterility.
Due to the containers design and multiple functions it can preform, any type of wetting, soaking, disinfectant, chemical, medicine, or preservative; can be safely be added to meet the exact needs of the function being preformed, by the container.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Worldwide in the health care environment there is a crisis due to Nosocomial Infections (hospital acquired infections). In the United States alone current spending to treat Nosocomial Infections is approximately $3 billion dollars annually; or a breakdown of $3500.00 per infection. Worldwide the problem with drug resistant microorganisms have not only increased the cost of treatment, but has also made the treatment of these infections more difficult. Nosocomial Infections on the human level, cause patient suffering and sometimes death.
Millions of dollars of medical research and clinical studies have demonstrated the high level of patient venerability to harmful microorganisms in the hospital environment. I have developed a theory of isolation to support the needed use of my device to help isolate and contain harmful microorganisms. The theory of isolation simply is to reduce the overall load or volume of microorganisms that are disease causing by isolating and containing them; thereby reduces the risk of disease transmission, in an environment such as a hospital. Thereby using the device will protect the patients to some degree. The primary function of the container will be to allow for the immediate isolation of biological contaminates at their human portal of exit sites, (in other words, isolates them where they are excreted). This isolation should help to reduce the overall microbial load and colony forming units in the air of the hospital environment. Therefore, the theory of isolation and the use of the container have the potential to reduce the overall rate of Nosocomial Infections worldwide. Due to the containers simple design, which is cost effective, and easy to use, the container will be capable of performing many functions. Basically the container can hold, store, or transfer any medical equipment, under strict sterile conditions. Or again the container can be used to isolate contaminated medical equipment, and disinfect all reusable equipment prior to opening the lid of the sealed container.
For operating room purposes the container is placed on a rack that allows for the holding of multiple containers. Although any type of rack or housing unit can be used, the preferred housing unit allows for the surgical team to have visual access of exactly where each instrument is located on the lid of the housing unit. The housing unit will vary in size, depending on what type of surgery equipment it is holding. The used instruments can be returned to the same container and the disinfectant is added in the operating room; and /or the new container can be used with the disinfectant already in the container. The racks can be numbered to make sure that all instruments have been accounted for.
3. Discussion of Prior Art
Many types of containers are known in the prior art that are used to temporarily store hypodermic needles and the like, including disinfecting them since the onset of the Aids virus. Both U.S. patents of Bruno (U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,808) and Kubofcik (U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,929) have been analyzed; since they are both elongated shaped containers to temporarily hold and store contaminated hypodermic needles. The Bruno patent also sites the use of magnets to secure the container, along with an elongated shape of container. Both the Bruno and Kubofcik are designed to function as and only as safe storage container to hold contaminated needles. Both patents are not designed to seal airtight so that they can prevent the spread of airborne germs; or transfer sterile equipment in a hollow sterile inter-chamber. In this analysis both the Bruno and Kubofcik patents were not intended to be used to isolate and contain medical waste contaminated with airborne germs. These patents both were simply designed to protect health care workers from contaminated needle puncture wounds.